Prevent Don't Promote Marijuana/THC Use

This selection of 30 references is a thorough compilation of current research findings on the health impacts of marijuana and the public health impacts of marijuana legalization and commercialization.

Any policymaker or journalist seeking to be better informed than by the spin of industry promoters would do well to inform their decision making, advocacy and reporting by studying and referencing this work.

4. Marijuana is addicting, has adverse effects upon the adolescent brain, is a risk for both cardiorespiratory disease and testicular cancer, and is associated with both psychiatric illness and negative social outcomes.
–Statement of the American College of Pediatricians, April 2016 (Marijuana Use: Detrimental to Youth).

6. Marijuana use is associated with increased incidence and worsened course of psychotic, mood, anxiety, and substance use disorders across the lifespan….and marijuana’s deleterious effects on adolescent brain development, cognition, and social functioning may have immediate and longterm implications.
–Statement of the American Academy of Child & Adolescent Psychiatry, 2014 (AACAP Marijuana Legalization Policy Statement).

8. There is a strong association of cannabis use with the onset of psychiatric disorders. Adolescents are particularly vulnerable to harm, given the effects
of cannabis on neurological development.
–Statement of the American Psychiatric Association (Position Statement on Marijuana as Medicine).

22. Potential impacts of recreational marijuana include not only increased availability, resulting in ED visits for acute intoxicating effects of marijuana use, but also effects on mental health disorders and psychiatric-related illnesses.
–American College of Emergency Physicians/ACEP NOW, October 2014. (How Legalizing Marijuana Has Impacted Colorado).

28. Marijuana is not benign and there’s a mountain of scientific evidence, compiled over nearly 30 years, to prove it poses serious risks, particularly for developing brains.
–Diane McIntosh, Professor of Psychiatry-University of British Columbia, April 2016. (You Can’t Deny Marijuana Is Dangerous For Developing Minds).